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This is the week of the year my thoughts are naturally drawn - to the Charlie Brown Christmas program

One of many beloved traditions at Lord of LIfe

The Charlie Brown Christmas special

It seems to me that it usually happened around this week in the program year

The first year I saw it performed here

i was mesmerized by the costumes & and the professional way that our high school youth acted as they recreated this well-known and well loved Christmas special

it was a great gift that Guy Kelm ... and many other volunteers - not the least of which were the countless High School students gave to the Lord of Life congregation each year.

At the heart of the program is the search for the true meaning of Christmas by Charlie Brown

and at the end - Charlie Brown cries out... Isn't there anyone who can tell me what Christmas is all about...

Linus responds by reciting the Christmas story from Luke 2...

the reading that begins...

and there were in the same country shepherds, keeping their watch, over their fl ocks by night

and lo - the angel of the Lord came upon them

and the glory of the Lord shown round about them

and they were so afraid

and the angels said unto them - fear not

for behold i bring you good tidings of great joy

which shall be to all people

unto you is born this day in the city of david

a savior - which is Christ the Lord

and this shall be a sign unto you

you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger

and suddenly there was with the angel

a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:

Glory to God in the Highest

and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men...

...at the end ... Linus tells Charlie Brown -

That's what Christmas is all about.

while there will be no Charlie Brown Christmas program this year...

or any other live Christmas program

there will not be a lot of things...

that we've become accustomed to

but because of this

this year holds incredible possibility as well

This year holds the possibility of experiencing Christmas like no other Christmas in our lives

Do any of us doubt this?

This year (w/ all that it has brung us)...

without our ability to gather

to eat in restaurants...

The uniqueness of Christmas will most certainly transform us this year....

in ways that I believe will be profound

and holy

and reveal much about ouselves....

in most years - it's the world outside that seems to undergo the radical transformation

the world makes it hard to pay attention to the true meaning of Christmas...

Christmas becomes a time for

indulging in foods

gift giving

decking out w/ lights...

homes

workplaces

communities

filling the playlists with all of the same Christmas music...

schedules fill with activites

bringing with it exhaustion

maybe that's one of the reasons why so many Christmas specials harp on us getting back to the real meaning of Christmas

if that has happened this year - i haven't noticed

have you?

perhaps this year is the year that - by and large - we can avoid the assault

and instead - be transformed

to put flesh - and deeper meaning...

on what Linus uttered to Charlie Brown

when he spoke

how earth, peace, goodwill would be experienced by all humanity

This year holds the possibility of immersing ourselves in the Word of God - in some incredibly powerful ways - like no other time in our lives

as we reflect on the similarities between Isaiah's world and our own...

In isa's day...

people had returned home

what they found there

was anything but the experience that they were nostalgic for

instead - they experienced

disappointment

disillusionment

division

injustice

poverty

greed

the nation was divided

leaders catered to the privileged

justice was for sale

sin persisted

acrimony between peoples was the norm - rather than consolation

it was a time of rigid sectarianism ...

rather than an open embrace of others who were not like themself

it takes less imagination today than ever before to say our world is much like Isaiah's day

this year holds the possibility of viscerally feeling...what their life was like

we find many filled with fear - what will happen to our nation

what did our election mean?

what will it mean in the future?

will we ever hold an election - without a major portion of our nation feel as if it has been stolen?

clearly - we've always had an America First attitude

but the story we've always told ourselves was...

America first in peace-making

America first in nation-building

America first in humanitariansm

these days have laid bare the depth of our nation's self interest...

as anger has erupted that other countries have started vaccinating their population just days before us...

can there be a better time - for us to hear clear what God's priorities are....

as we are handing out vaccines...

and we have to think about whose first...

and whose next..

and whose last...

what are our priorities?

and what are God's?

Reality is made clear...

depression is denied

hidden addictions are revealed - as liquor sales sky-rocket

domestic violence is on the rise

self-hating is purvasive

greed & hatred are on display for everyone to see

relationships severed

...in our world - many people .. perhaps you too... feel

oppressed

brokenhearted

captive

imprisoned

wondering when transformation will take place

this can be a time when--like never before--we are ready to hear these words from Isaiah...

This Sunday holds the possibility of not only celebrating THAT Jesus came... but to focus on WHY Jesus came in a unique way

In the OT - we have the pass from Isiah 61

when Jesus reached the moment in his life when he had to tell those around - WHY he was there...

he used this passage from Isaiah 61

preached in a little synagog

in his home town of nazareth

In drawing on this passage - Jesus was saying here's why...

Good news

healing

liberty

release

comfort

year of the Lord's favor

a year - when - according to an ancient custom

debts were erased

slaves freed

fields allowed to rest

and all land sales were reversed

in ch 24-27 of Isaiah... the prophet tells a tale of two cities...

the Lofty City

put itself above God

symbol of rebellious humanity

destined for ruin

in contrast to that was the New Jerusalem

where God reigns as king over all humanity

all nations

no more death or suffering

by drawing on Isaiah 61... Jesus was saying...

though the city is messed up - I'm here to restore it...

i'm the master gardener....

recalling isaiah 45:8

rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down saving justice, let the earth open up and blossom w/ salvation, and let justice sprout with it

This season holds the possibility of anointing us... like no other Advent in our lives

why do I say anointing?

anointing is an ancient custom of pouring oil on it .. to reveal something about it

.. to reveal something about it

any woodworker - knows the power of oil to reveal the richness of the grain of wood

and any cook knows the power of oil to reveal the richness of taste ...

..to annoint - is to make clear the holiness - that otherwise would be hidden

Christ is called the anointed

To call Christ = messiah, the annointed one

that title speaks of revealing his divine nature

annointing - makes it clear that whatever is annointed is sacred

This year holds the possibility of ...

reminding people - Advent is a time of waiting

but not just waiting - a time to prepare for God to transform the World through Jesus Christ

we are called to point to

the elderly poor

children w/o healthcare

refugees in Darfur

homeless schitzophrenic

when we turn attention to those Isa names as recipients of good news

oppressed

broken hearted

captives

prisoners

mournful

faint of spirit

God's special concern for the lowest and weakest

re; Witness

People seeing that we live differently

the nations will notice

the nations will be drawn to the ways of God

if our "differently" is ... we fail in that mission

judge

fight

exclude

This season holds the possibility of anointing for our congregation

This season holds the possibility of catching a new vision for our mission

LOL mission... deeper and richer connection to Christ, our Community, and Each Other....

why?

because ... care for people isn't a afterthought... of our mission

In Isaiah - it is made clear we are defined as God's people who exist for the sake of ...

oppressed

brokenhearted

imprisoned

mournful

it is at the heart of who we are...

Our anointing - is the anointing of Bethlehem....

Pastor Erika the other day reminded me...

Lord of Life and Bethlehem Lutheran have a special relationship

We serve as East/West bookends for the Communities of Brainerd and Baxter

though our Name is different - we share much

we are anointed as Bethlehem... in the sense that we share in this mission...

and just like the Christmas carol - O little town of Bethlehem...

to be a place where meek souls will receive him still...

here can be a place where people can overcome their resistance to grace

here can be a place where people experience the radical acceptance of a loving God

that is our annointing

may we also be anointed a Bethlehem...

the place where the hopes and fears of all the years ...

are met here

in this congregation ...

in christ....

So much possibility in this season .. so much promise

May this Advent - be a time...

where it is clear that God is at work

Transforming us...

Anointing us...

making it abundantly clear

who we are

whose we are

this is not an empty hope - a sure promise